Introduction to GLOWA JR Project

GLOWA Jordan River is an interdisciplinary project addressing the vulnerability of water resources in the Jordan River Basin under global change. An integrated approach provides scientific support for sustainable and cooperative management practices in a highly water-stressed region. Its mandate is based on the general goals of the GLOWA programme of the BMBF which are the provision of “simulation tools and instruments to develop and realize strategies for sustainable water management”.
Its central goal is to increase the benefits from the region’s water be for humans and ecosystems, under global change.
The specific niche and strengths of GLOWA JR, as opposed to earlier approaches to water scarcity adaptation and climate variability, are• its focus on interacting global change processes, such as climate and land use change,• the integrative and interdisciplinary approach, and• the continuous dialogue between scientists and stakeholders.To that end, GLOWA JR provides an innovative framework for assessing blue, green and non-conventional water management, overcoming the traditionally fragmented approach to sustainable resource management.

The multitude of stakeholders calls for a multilateral research consortium. Research institutions from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Germany and Sweden contribute scientific knowledge from a range of sources, such as insitu and remote sensing measurements, monitoring and manipulative experiments, socio-economic data, and modelling. A modelling framework is developed to integrate data and methods from various disciplines. A continuous and iterative dialogue with regional stakeholders is held for producing information which is relevant for water management.

GLOWA JR is structured into different subprojects dealing with
global change processes, blue, green and new water resources, ecosystems, agriculture, and integration and stakeholder participation.

The first phase of GLOWA JR was from 2001–2005. The second phase was from September 2005–2008. Since January 2009 GLOWA JR is in its third phase.